Selective coin-operative device



April 28, 1925.

J. 5. LAUND ERVILLE SELECTIVE COIN OPERATIVE DEVICE 3Sheeag-Sluget 1Filed April 21, 1921 April 28, 1925.

J. S. LAUNDERVILLE SELECTIVE COIN OPERATIVE DEVICE Filed April 21. 1921's sheets-shag 2 April 28, 1925.

Filed April 21. 1921 3 Sheefc s-Sheet' 5 Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOSEPH S. LAUNDERVILLE,

0F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

SELECTIVE COIN-OPERATIVE DEVICE.

Application filed April 21, 1921. Serial No. 463,414.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr S. .LJAUNDER- VILLE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of the city of Oakland, county of Alameda, andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inSelective Coin-Operative Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has for its object a con tainer having several compartmentsin each of which there is a plurality of small articles, such as ballsof gum, candy or the like and which several comparti'nents may becharged with different sizes or flavors or other varying qualities tosatisfy the varying tastes of the public and which may be selectivelyabstracted by the insertion of a coin and movement of a lever. Thedevice is particularly adapted to being exposed on counters and the likeand is provided with means by which a unit of merchandise is transferredfrom its compartment into a pocket exposed to the operator whenever therequisite coin has been depos ited and the operating device moved. Inthis way a purchaser may insert the 00111 into any pocket of which hedesires to abstract the corresponding merchandise, operate the lever andthe machine will discharge to him one unit of said merchandise and willthereafter restoreitself ready for a second opera tion, which secondoperation may only be performed after the introduction of another coin.The coins as passed into the machine, are retained in a separatecompartment and the merchandise is arranged behind glass so as to bereadily observable to an intending purchaser.

By referring to the accompanying drawings my invention will be madeclear.

Fig. 1 is a side View of my machine as particularly constructed andadapted to the sale of balls of gum of different flavors.

Fig; 2 is a cross section of Fig. 1 on the line IL-II thereof, andshowing the openings through which the gum is passed to the operatingmechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through the lower portion of the apparatusof Fig. 1, showing the interior construction and operating mechanism andmanner in which the coin is employed to release the merchandise.

Fig. 4 shows in plan certain of the operat- .ing parts of Fig. 3 withcertain of the stationary parts thereabove shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the casing on the line VV of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a small portion of the casing adjacent to theo crating lever in its position of starting an showing the coin slotthereabove.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the operating lever and its center constructionas employed in combination with each of the compartments.

Fig. 8 shows a variation in construction whereby a single lever is usedto actuate the mechanism under any or all of the pockets depending onthe inserted coin or coins.

Fig. 9 is a plan view with top portion of the machine removed to betterdisclose the arrangement and operation of the parts.

'lhroughout the figures similar numerals refer to identical parts.

A glass globe is indicated by the numeral 1 open at the top and bottomand having partition members 2, 3, 4 therein forming a plurality ofcompartments. These partition members extend into the bottom and arepreferably mounted in grooves as at 5, Fig. 3, which latter extendupward from the bottom member 6. In'the device chosen for illustrationand having the three compartments formed by the partitions 2, 3, at, thebottom (3 is formed with three openings 7, 8, 9, through whichthe'little balls of gum 10 may readily drop until they contact with theoperating lever member 11, (see also Fig. 7) and at such time occupy theposition shown in Fig. 3 within an opening in the circular plate 12.This latter is pivoted at 13 and said pivot I prefer also to extendthrough the operating member 11, thus forming like wise a pivot for saidmember, and to be secure-dto the bottom plate 14. The pivot 13 ispreferably shouldered at 15 and provided with a holding nut 16 thusforming also a spacing member between 6 and 1-1 which are thus tightlybolted together while the plate 12 and operating member 11 are freelymoveable therebetween. Extended out from the member 11 is the operatinghandle 17 exposed outside of the casing for the hand of the operator. At18 I prefer to introduce a bushing about the center rod 19 which alsoinsures the proper spacing of 6 and 14. At is a chute which terminatesin a pocket for receiving such balls oi": gum as may be passed from thecircular minber 12 and through plate lei as will be described below, andthe center rod 1.9 I employ to clamp the several parts together. The topmay be locked in any well known way by the padlock at 21. T 1e casing isshown in two parts 22 and 23 respectively, and in the upper portion 22 Iterm the coin slot 2& by which a coin may be introduced and traveldownward as on the dotted lines 25, thus falling into the slot 26 of theblocl: 27 forn'ied with the operating lever 17. At such time the coin isresting on the incline 28 and upon the bottom plate lat and projectsinto the slot 29 of the circnlar member 12. Figs. 3 and It will now beapparent that ii the operating lever 17 is moved in the direction of thearrow 39 it will carry with it the coin 31, whose edge will slide uponthe bottom 14; and whose Side resting in the slot 29 will carry thecircular member 12 in the direc tion of the arrow 30 and the ball of gum19 will at such time be carried beyond the range of the opening 9 andinto the portion of the opening 37 at which time the spring 2 3 willsnap into the recess 34:, thus holding the circular member 12 fromreturning when the lever 17 is moved in the direction opposite to thearrow 80. lVhcn handle 17 is turned after the insertion of a coin, disc12 and member 11 would move together until spring 33 snapped into anotch 34-, which would occur at about the time the handle 17 reached theend or" its strokes. At that time ball 10 would reach the positionindicated by the opening 37 and drop through the aperture in member 14.Handle 17 with member 11 would return to normal position while 12remained stationary and another ball would drop into aperture 3 Thespring 33 is anchored as at 38 to the bottom member 6 and the range ofn'iovement of the lever l7 is through a. slot formed in the. side oi thecasing as at 39, Fig. ('3. The upper and lower sections oi the casing l.prefer to term with the tongue and groove jointed as shown at it in Fig.5, thereby aligning the parts together. it will also be apparent fromthe construction shown that the center bolt 19 may if desired beswiveled at at or elsewhere in combination with the lower casing 23 sothat the entire upper structure above 23 may rotate to bring any part ofthe globe 1 to the front, at which time the upper casing 22 will. rotateon the lower casing 23 as about the joint ii. The coin 31 which fallsinto the slot 26 (see Fig. ii) is carried in the direction of the arrow39 when the lever 17 is moved and carries with it as above stated therotating member until such time as the said coin resting upon the plate14. arrives opposite to the slot 49, when the coin ialls through thesaid slot thus disconnecting any movement between 17 and 12. At thistime, however, the spring has engaged one of the ratchet openings in theperiphery of the member 12 so that the latter is held from returning andthe coins falling into the bottom pan 43 are collected and may beremoved by unlocking the bottom as by the padlock engaging the lugs 44-.The ball of gum falling through the opening 37 in the plate 1% descendson the sliding chute until it arrives in the exposed pocket at the endof the chute 50.

Apertures 7, S, 9 of Fig. 2 are in the member 6 and do register with oneor more openings in the discs to insure the discs being charged. SeeFig. 4. They do not, however, register with the openings as 37; arotation of the respective discs being necessary in each case totransfer the charge in any disc pocket to the opening 37.

Referring particularly to Fig. 9 wherein I have shown a variation of themechanical construction in my coin operative device; 15 indicates anannular ring or plate member which is operated in a rotary direction bythe lever 46 between limits 47, 4S and about a central axis of rotation57. Three members are indicated at 60, (31, and G2 and are respectivelypivoted at (33, 6 and to the bottom plate 14 and have superimposedthereover the discs, 66, 67 and (58: pins and slots connecting themembers and ring are shown at 49, 51 and 56 respectively. These discshave holding springs and slots 72, 73, 74, whereby the discs 66, 67 andG8 are permitted to be rotated in one direction only and arefrictionally held by their respective springs. A retracting spring issupplied at to return the handle 46 against stop 47. Coin slots areprovided for each disc and member as at 76, 58, 7 9, respectively, sothat as a coin is introduced it forms an engaging means between thecorresponding disc and member. lVhen a coin is inserted a n'iovement at46 rotates the corresponding member and disc until the coin arrives overits discharge opening as l2, Fig. l. No rotation is imparted to any discun less a coin be inserted in the appropriate slot as above describedand the handle 4-6 thereafter operated.

It will now be seen that by dropping a coin in any of the sol. .ctedslots and opposite the particular merchandise unit and then operatingthe common lover or handle -46 that the single selected unit will bedischarged and the coin released and that no further units may beabstracted until another coin is inserted in one of the slots.

I claim In a coin operative device, a receptacle having a plurality oi?compartments opening downward ada1 ted to hold different merchandiseunits, a disc rotatable under each ol said openings and having aplurality of passages, one. oi which passages registers with thecorresponding compartment opening, an oscillating member under each discand a common pivot for the disc and member, a coin slot common to eachdisc and its mem- 5 her, a bottom element having passages adapted toretain a coin in any of said slots and clearance openings in saidelement for discharging the coin from any corresponding slot When themember has rotated the disc to register a disc passage With acorresponding passage in said element whereby a unit of merchandise isdischarged and operating means common to all of said members.

JOSEPH S. LAUNDERVILLE.

